New York guide · Updated October 2026
New Yorkers have two routes to tirzepatide: brand Zepbound® through a plan that covers it, or cash. The Empire Plan for state workers covers Zepbound® with prior authorization, but Medicaid and New York City's employee plan don't pay for weight loss, and upstate insurers have tightened their rules. Cash prices for compounded tirzepatide from online programs serving New York run about $129 to $399 a month; MaxLife's is $120 a month on a Starter Kit plan, then $195, with no membership fee, and brand Zepbound® runs $299 to $449. Compounded tirzepatide is not FDA-approved.
$120/moMaxLife tirzepatide on a Starter Kit plan, then $195/mo
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MaxLife Tirzepatide
Physician-guided weight loss, shipped to your door
$120/moNo membership fee
on a Starter Kit plan, then $195/mo.
4.7on Trustpilot · 620+ reviews
What could you lose?
≈ 19 lbsin about 3 months
≈ 45 lbsin about 1 year
Average results with brand tirzepatide (Zepbound®) plus diet and activity in the SURMOUNT-1 trial applied to your weight. Compounded tirzepatide was not studied in this trial. Individual results may vary.
Compounded medications are not FDA-approved. A licensed provider decides if treatment is right for you.
MaxLife, a telehealth company in Irvine, California, wrote this guide and is one of its options. We have no New York office and serve New Yorkers by mail. Each price and rule links to its source with the date we checked it (October 2026), and our own fine print is on the page too.
In New York the answer depends on the name on your card. New York State's own plan covers brand Zepbound® for weight management (Empire Plan drug list), New York City's plan stopped, and Medicaid covers it only for sleep apnea (NYRx). Find your plan below. If it isn't there, call the number on your card and ask about Zepbound® for weight management by name.
New York plans, 2026
Plan by plan, checked October 2026. Compounded tirzepatide is a cash purchase on every plan.
State employees, retirees and many local public employers
Zepbound® and Wegovy® are Level 2 preferred drugs with prior authorization on the 2026 drug list, so a fill of up to 30 days costs $30 at a network pharmacy.
2026 drug list · Choices 2026NYCE PPO, the rider and union welfare funds
The city stopped paying for weight-loss GLP-1 drugs in 2025 after saying they had been covered in error. Since January 1, 2026, drugs come through the NYCE PPO's optional rider or your union's welfare fund, so ask the fund.
Business Insurance, Oct 2024 · City noticeIncluding Medicaid managed care
Weight loss stays excluded. Zepbound® is covered for moderate to severe sleep apnea and Wegovy® for heart disease, each with prior authorization, a BMI of 40 or more, a lifestyle program and two treatment attempts per lifetime.
Zepbound criteria · Wegovy criteriaRochester, Syracuse and upstate
Since January 1, 2026, Wegovy®, Zepbound® and Saxenda® are off the drug list of certain Excellus plans for weight loss, according to news reports. Members already on them who meet Excellus's criteria stay covered, and others can ask for an exception.
WROC reportWestern, Northeastern and Capital Region plans
Highmark raised its bar for weight-loss GLP-1 drugs to a BMI of 40 in 2025. MVP asks for at least four lifestyle visits in six months, and Independent Health asks for an in-person assessment.
Spectrum News · MVP · Independent HealthAge 65 and older, or with a disability
Medicare drug plans can't pay for weight loss, but from July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge gives members who qualify Zepbound® KwikPen®, Wegovy® or Foundayo® for $50 a month.
CMS · Medicare.govMilitary members, retirees and families
TRICARE Prime and Select cover Zepbound®, Wegovy® and Saxenda® for weight management with criteria and prior authorization. TRICARE For Life does not.
TRICAREAnthem, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Fidelis, Healthfirst and others
Coverage depends on the plan and, for job-based plans, on whether the employer bought weight-loss coverage. Ask for the plan's rules in writing before you start.
New York gives you a strong second chance. After your plan's final denial, you have 4 months to ask the Department of Financial Services for an external appeal. The plan may charge you $25 at most (nothing on Medicaid or Child Health Plus, or if the fee is a hardship), and the decision binds the plan. For a drug that isn't on your plan's list, an urgent appeal is decided within 24 hours, and a standard urgent one within 72 hours.
An appeal can't add a benefit your contract leaves out, but it can overturn a "not medically necessary" denial, for example of Zepbound® for sleep apnea. You can read past decisions in DFS's public database. Self-funded employer plans follow federal appeal rules instead.
Our picks for New Yorkers
We compared programs that serve New York and publish their prices, counted memberships and visit fees, and put the insured route first when a plan covers it. Each pick fits one situation and comes with its catch.
A 3-month Starter Kit brings compounded tirzepatide to $120 a month ($360 billed at once); after that it's $195 a month whatever your dose, with no membership. The price covers the provider review, medicine if prescribed, supplies and overnight shipping in an insulated box, and our team can help in Spanish.
MaxLife price
$120/mo
on a Starter Kit plan, then $195/mo
Good to know: You pay the 3 months at the start. Across 12 months, Eden's flat $129 comes out cheaper. Cancellations need 30 days' notice before the next bill.
Check if you qualifyOn the Empire Plan, Zepbound® is a $30 copay for up to 30 days once prior authorization is approved. Any New York-licensed prescriber can ask for it; Sesame, based in Manhattan, offers video visits with a provider from $59 a month on its annual plan.
Empire Plan copay
$30/mo
plus the prescriber's fees
Good to know: Prior authorization has criteria, and most other New York plans exclude or limit weight-loss drugs. Check yours before you book.
$129 a month, the same at higher doses and with no membership fee, comes to about $1,548 for 12 months. Care is an online questionnaire reviewed by a clinician, then messaging, and Eden runs its own pharmacy in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Eden, monthly
$129/mo
flat as the dose goes up
Watch for: No refunds after a cycle begins, prices that Eden's terms let it change, and no published Spanish service.
LillyDirect sells Zepbound® for $299 at the starting dose, then $399 and $449 per 28 days when you refill on time. Counsel Health's chat visits cost $29 (labs about $43 in New York), and pharmacies such as Walgreens and CVS match the price on the KwikPen® with Lilly's savings card.
LillyDirect
$299 to $449
each 28-day fill, before visit fees
Watch for: Refill late at a higher dose and you pay $499 or $699; the pharmacy savings card stops at the end of 2026.
Dr. Bryant Medical in St. Albans, Queens, charges $190 a month all in, with a monthly check-in in person or by video and unlimited messaging. Clinics around New York City that post prices charge about $190 to $799 a month.
Dr. Bryant price
$190/mo
check-ins included
Good to know: The page doesn't say whether its tirzepatide is compounded or brand, so ask before you start.
New York price table
Each program's own published prices and terms, checked October 2026. Compounded tirzepatide is not FDA-approved; Zepbound® and Wegovy® are FDA-approved brands.
| Program | Price | Membership | Visit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MaxLifeLowest start | $120/mofor 3 months on a Starter Kit, then $195/mo | None | Online intakelicensed provider reviews it within about a day | Flat price as doses risehelp in Spanish |
| EdenLowest full year | $129/moone price at every step up | None | Questionnaire online | Own pharmacyAlbuquerque, NM |
| Fifty410 | $149.50 per 4 weeks$299 per 8 weeks | None | Online intakeportal follow-up | No auto-renew |
| Rift | From $179/moor $469 per 12 weeks; intro prices | None | Online intake | Pharmacy of your choicerenewal price not stated |
| SkinnyRx | $99 to start$299 after, or $214.50/mo over 12 months | None | Online intakevideo when a state requires it | Intro price |
| Mochi Health | From $90/momedicine price rises with dose | $49 to $79/mo | Video visit | Medicine and membership billed apart |
| Found | $219, then $239 to $359per 28 days, care included | Included | Chat or text | Insurance plans too |
| LillyDirect (brand Zepbound®)FDA-approved | $299 to $449each 28-day fill; visits extra | None | Your own prescriberCounsel charges $29 a chat | Top price needs a refill within 45 days |
| SesameManhattan | $59 to $99/moprovider membership; medicine extra | Included | Video visits | For brand prescriptionsinsurance or LillyDirect |
| CalibrateManhattan | $199/mo3-month minimum; labs and medicine extra | Included | Live video | Brand GLP-1 program |
| Dr. Bryant Medical (in person) | $190/moall in, per the clinic | None | In person or videomonthly check-in | St. Albans, Queens County |
| W8MD (in person) | From $69.99 a weekself-pay, by dose | Visit fees not published | In office | Brooklyn, Kings County |
Out of 135 programs and options we reviewed for New Yorkers, these serve the state and show prices in public. Companies change prices, so check the current one before you sign up; being listed here is not an endorsement.
No coverage? Start at $120 a month
Compounded tirzepatide from MaxLife costs $120 a month on a Starter Kit plan, then $195, with no membership. A licensed provider makes the call.
Check if you qualifyOnly a clinician licensed in New York. Unlike Florida, New York has no registration for out-of-state telehealth providers, and it isn't in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, so a doctor licensed only in New Jersey or Connecticut can't treat you while you're in New York; the exceptions are narrow, such as a consultation with a New York doctor (Education Law §6526). Nurse practitioners with more than 3,600 hours of practice can prescribe in a collaborative relationship with a physician, and physician assistants work under a physician's supervision.
Is a video visit required? New York's telehealth law covers live video, store-and-forward images or videos, remote monitoring and phone calls, and it leaves out "electronic messaging alone" (Public Health Law §2999-cc). No New York law says whether an online questionnaire alone is enough, so the usual test applies: online care has to meet the same standard as an office visit (Office of the Professions). Many programs start New Yorkers with a video or phone visit.
Prescriptions go electronically. New York requires e-prescribing, with an exception for prescriptions filled by a pharmacy outside the state (§281).
Where you are counts. A New Yorker who spends the winter in Florida needs, for a visit there, a prescriber who can practice in Florida, which lets out-of-state clinicians register for telehealth (Florida Department of Health). New Yorkers are the largest group of Florida's winter residents (University of Florida), and our Florida guide covers that side.
3-minute check
Search the clinician's name in the State Education Department's license verification. The status should be Registered.
Physicians also appear in the New York State Physician Profile, with training, hospital ties and any legal actions.
The Department of Health lists actions against physicians and physician assistants on its professional misconduct page.
Yes, if a prescriber licensed in New York orders it for your own medical needs and the pharmacy that makes and ships it is registered with the New York State Board of Pharmacy. It is not FDA-approved: the FDA doesn't check compounded tirzepatide for safety, effectiveness or quality.
Mass copies ended when the FDA ruled the shortage over on December 19, 2024, a decision a federal appeals court upheld on August 27, 2026. New York's own law for outsourcing facilities also bars compounding a drug that is "essentially a copy" of an approved one. Compounding for one patient's documented needs is still allowed.
A year makes the routes easier to compare than a month, because intro prices and memberships even out. Through a plan that covers brand Zepbound®, the copays add up to a few hundred dollars. Paying cash, a year of compounded tirzepatide starts at about $1,550 online, and brand Zepbound® with a prescriber costs about $6,000.
First year
Each route's own published prices, checked October 2026; our math. Compounded tirzepatide is not FDA-approved.
Sources: NYSHIP (Empire Plan copay), CMS (Bridge), and each program's own website. Visits, labs and needles are included where the program publishes them.
Any pharmacy that mails you a prescription must be registered with the New York State Board of Pharmacy. A pharmacy in another state needs a nonresident establishment registration (Education Law §6808-b), and 503B outsourcing facilities need their own New York registration. New York has no separate sterile-compounding license. On August 1, 2026, the Board counted 5,391 registered pharmacies in New York State, 3,100 of them in New York City, plus 1,544 registered out-of-state pharmacies and 34 outsourcing facilities (Office of the Professions).
New York adds protections for mail order:
To check a pharmacy, ask the program for its name and search it in the State Education Department's verification search under pharmacy establishments; a pharmacy in another state should show a nonresident registration that is current.
From Buffalo to Brooklyn, by mail
MaxLife compounded tirzepatide: $120 a month on a Starter Kit plan, then $195. Spanish-speaking staff can help.
Check if you qualifyIn New York the risk is freezing, not heat. Zepbound®'s label says never to freeze it and not to use it if it has frozen (Lilly). Last winter Albany's overnight low was at or below freezing on 87 of 90 nights, Massena in St. Lawrence County stayed below freezing for 27 days in a row, and Watertown reached minus 36°F on February 8, 2026 (NOAA daily data, our count); in a normal year Albany has 136 nights at or below freezing and Watertown 151 (NOAA climate normals). The governor declared a statewide emergency on January 23, 2026 ahead of extreme cold and a major storm (Governor's office).
Delivery and disposal
Schedule deliveries for days you're home, never let a box sit in a mailbox or on a porch overnight, and check the medicine before you use it. If it froze or arrived damaged, call the pharmacy for a replacement.
The city cites an estimate of 90,000 packages stolen or lost in transit every day, and it set up free LockerNYC lockers (City of New York). Have medicine held at a doorman desk, a package room you can reach the same day, or a locker.
Rite Aid closed more than 175 New York pharmacies in 2025 (Spectrum News). If your store closed, check where your prescriptions were moved, or use mail order or LillyDirect delivery.
City sanitation workers were stuck by needles 49 times by August 10, 2026, and the department proposed raising the fine for improper disposal from $100 to $250 (NY1). Use a sharps container and a drop-off site.
87 of 90: winter nights at or below freezing in Albany, 2025 to 2026 (NOAA, our count).
New York treats GLP-1 shots as medical care. In January 2026 the Department of State said it had inspected 223 med spas and similar businesses and cited 87 for possible violations, including the unlawful practice of medicine. It lists GLP-1 drugs, compounded or brand, among the medical services a business may offer only with the proper medical license (Department of State).
A prescriber who doesn't run a pharmacy may hand out no more than a 72-hour supply of a drug (Education Law §6807), so a month of tirzepatide should come from a registered pharmacy. Before a shot at a spa, ask who the prescriber is and look up the license.
The coverage changes, rules and storms that shaped tirzepatide in New York, in order.
Timeline
The city says the drugs were covered in error and ends coverage for nearly 1,000 workers in 2025.
Business InsuranceUpstate members need a BMI of 40 for a weight-loss GLP-1.
Spectrum NewsMore than 175 stores close statewide.
Spectrum NewsWegovy®, Zepbound® and Saxenda® leave certain plans' drug lists; the Empire Plan keeps them.
WROC reportThe Department of State reports 223 inspections and 87 citations.
Department of StateThe governor declares an emergency ahead of a major winter storm.
Governor's officeAt least four visits in six months before a weight-loss GLP-1 is approved.
MVPNew Yorkers on Medicare who qualify pay $50 a month through 2027.
CMSNYRx covers it with a BMI of 40 or more and two treatment attempts per lifetime.
NYRxSanitation workers were stuck 49 times by August 10; the city proposes a $250 fine.
NY1GLP-1 drugs remain excluded when used for weight loss.
NYRxMaxLife is a telehealth company in Irvine, California that serves all 50 states, New York included, by mail; we have no New York office. Compounded tirzepatide costs $120 a month on a Starter Kit plan, then $195 a month, with no membership fee and the same price at higher doses. The provider review, ongoing support, medicine if prescribed, supplies and free overnight shipping in an insulated container are included, and a licensed partner pharmacy authorized to serve New York fills the prescriptions.
A licensed provider reviews your online intake, health history and clinical records, usually within 24 hours, and you can ask for a video visit. Completing the intake doesn't guarantee a prescription.
About 15.1% of New Yorkers speak Spanish at home (U.S. Census Bureau), and MaxLife has Spanish-speaking staff who can guide you through the program and support you during treatment.
If your plan covers brand Zepbound®, as the Empire Plan does, your copay will usually be lower than our price. MaxLife is a patient management platform, not a pharmacy or a drug maker, and independent licensed providers decide whether a prescription is right for you.
MaxLife pricing
The same price at higher doses and no membership fee. Prepay 1, 3, 6 or 12 months at $120 a month, or pay $195 a month as you go.
$120/mo
One $360 charge covers months 1 to 3; month 4 on is $195.
$195/mo
Pay month to month. Same price at higher doses.
Frequently asked questions
Anywhere in New York, start online
Two minutes online shows if MaxLife compounded tirzepatide could suit you: $120 a month on a Starter Kit plan, then $195. A licensed provider decides.
Check if you qualifyGeneral information only, not medical or legal advice. The FDA does not approve compounded medications or review them for safety, effectiveness or quality. MaxLife is a patient management platform, not a pharmacy or a drug maker, and a prescription is written only when a licensed provider decides treatment suits you. Prices and plan rules were taken from public pages in October 2026 and may change, so confirm them before you enroll. Zepbound®, Mounjaro®, KwikPen® and Foundayo® are registered trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company; Wegovy® and Saxenda® are registered trademarks of Novo Nordisk. MaxLife is not affiliated with the other companies or plans named.
Our editorial disclosure
MaxLife publishes this guide and is one of its options. We fixed our comparison rules before we gathered prices, we quote each program's and plan's own documents, and we tell you when your plan or another program costs less than we do.
Plans and prices move fast in New York. Tell us what changed and we'll check it and fix the page.
hi@maxlife.comMedical and regulatory note: This page is for information only and is not medical or legal advice. Compounded medications are not FDA-approved. Prescription treatment is available only if a licensed provider decides it is right for you.